By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University football team hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to Golden, Colo. to face Colorado School of Mines at 1 p.m. CST on Saturday.
Washburn linebackers J.C. Heim (9) and L.J. Minner Jr. are both among the top tacklers in the MIAA. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods are 1-1 after falling in their MIAA to Northwest Missouri State 34-7 last Saturday while the Orediggers are 1-0 after opening the season with a 33-31 win at West Texas A&M.
"It may sound weird, but I like the way the first two weeks have gone where we've had some success and confidence and the guys know we're doing it the right way and we can win,'' Washburn coach Zach Watkins said. "Obviously, you never want to losea game, but I think that loss and the way we lost kind of re-focused us in practice and showed us some weaknesses that we had to address.
"Sometimes wins can gloss over some things, but I think we're a better team now than we were going into last week.''
Mines took a 31-28 win over Washburn last season in Yager Stadium.
The Ichabods are 13-6 all-time against the Orediggers after having their six-game winning streak snapped last season.
"It's another playoff-caliber team on our schedule and the long road trip and the two-day travel and all of that will be a challenge, but you have to manage it and it's part of college football,'' Watkins said. "We'll have to play well to win.''
Former Washburn Rural star J.C. Heim is second in the MIAA in tackles with 26 for the Ichabods and L.J. Minner Jr. is fourth with 24 stops. Minner has recorded double-digit tackles in each of his last five games dating back to last season.
Heim led the Ichabods with a career-high 15 tackles against Northwest while Minner had 13 tackles.
Northwest Missouri State controlled the tempo from the opening kickoff last Saturday on the way to the 27-point win.
The Bearcats struck quickly in the first quarter with a pair of touchdown passes, building a 13-0 lead. The Ichabod defense held strong in the second quarter, keeping Northwest off the board, but the visitors extended their advantage in the second half behind a balanced offensive attack that finished with nearly 500 total yards.
Washburn's lone score came early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Justin Lewis connected with wide receiver D.J. Bell for a 69-yard touchdown strike.
The Ichabods finished with 143 yards of total offense, including 162 through the air.
Lewis completed 14 of 30 passes for 162 yards. Bell caught four passes for 86 yards and also added four kickoffs for 79 yards to finish the afternoon with 152 all-purpose yards.
Washburn will return to MIAA play at Central Oklahoma on Sept. 20 before returning home to take on Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 27 for Washburn's Family Day.
